Free telephone conference calls?

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FreeConference calls - a site that let you make free telephone conference calls -- apparently is no longer free. At least I could not find where to call for free. Is there a recommended alternative for free conference calls? I tried one that lifehacker recommended, but we were cut off after four minutes. Any suggestions?

Google Hangouts can be used for conference calls. You can't do a dial-in number, but you can start a hangout and add everyone by phone. The advantage is that you can also support people who can do video conferencing. The hangout can be recorded to YouTube and privately distributed from there.

I've actually used it to record a dial-in conference call. You start the hangout, then invite the dial-in number. There's a keypad in the interface so you can enter the meeting code. It introduces a quarter-second delay, but nobody has ever noticed it.

I've recently come across AnyMeeting.com - they support up to 200 participants on a free conference call number and/or web meeting platform (like webex/gotomeeting). You get a static ("reservationless") conference number/pin. The free web portion is ad supported (no ads if you pay), has screen sharing, polls, text chat, etc, and allows video for up to 6 of the participants (everyone else is just audio via telephone or web).

If you're hosting a public webinar, the service makes it easy to allow people to pre-register, optionally pay, and then take post-event surveys or conduct other follow-up. The only missing feature I see is the thing on webex/gotomeeting where it tells you which participant is currently speaking (so you can find and mute background-noise offenders); but it does allow you to mute all participants, requiring them to unmute themselves to speak.

The free option doesn't support call recording, but you can find other screen/audio recording tools to fill that void if needed.

So far I've only tested between a few computers and phones, and after a minor speedbump it worked great. I even got very rapid email tech support when I submitted a question/issue - and this is on the free option. Reviews are mixed on the web, but it's definitely worth a look.

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